Optogenetics is a technique employing natural or genetically engineered photoreceptors in transgene organisms to manipulate biological activities with light. Light can be turned on or off, and adjusting its intensity and duration allows optogenetic fine-tuning of cellular processes in a noninvasive and spatiotemporally resolved manner. Since the introduction of Channelrhodopsin-2 and phytochrome-based switches nearly 20 years ago, optogenetic tools have been applied in a variety of model organisms with enormous success, but rarely in plants. For a long time, the dependence of plant growth on light and the absence of retinal, the rhodopsin chromophore, prevented the establishment of plant optogenetics until recent progress overcame these difficulties. We summarize the recent results of work in the field to control plant growth and cellular motion via green light–gated ion channels and present successful applications to light-control gene expression with single or combined photoswitches in plants. Furthermore, we highlight the technical requirements and options for future plant optogenetic research.

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植物生物学中的光遗传学方法

光遗传学是一种利用转基因生物中的天然或基因工程光感受器来利用光操纵生物活动的技术。光可以打开或关闭，调整其强度和持续时间可以以非侵入性和时空解析的方式对细胞过程进行光遗传学微调。自从近 20 年前推出视紫红质通道蛋白-2 和基于光敏色素的开关以来，光遗传学工具已在多种模式生物中得到了巨大成功的应用，但在植物中的应用却很少。长期以来，植物生长对光的依赖以及视网膜（视紫红质发色团）的缺乏阻碍了植物光遗传学的建立，直到最近的进展克服了这些困难。我们总结了通过绿光门控离子通道控制植物生长和细胞运动领域的最新工作成果，并介绍了植物中单个或组合光开关在光控基因表达方面的成功应用。此外，我们强调了未来植物光遗传学研究的技术要求和选择。